


Below Down Under

by Veldeia



Series: Captain America/Iron Man Bingo 2016 [6]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe - Australia, Alternate Universe - Mining, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Background Steve Rogers/Thor - Freeform, Cave-In, Hurt Tony Stark, M/M, Past Bucky Barnes/Steve Rogers, Post-Captain America: Civil War (Movie)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-31
Updated: 2016-07-31
Packaged: 2018-07-28 12:27:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,035
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7640131
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Veldeia/pseuds/Veldeia
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Steve Rogers, mining captain, catches up with his ex-lover, mining engineer Tony Stark, while stuck in a collapsed passage of an Australian gold mine.</p><p>Part 1 of the AU Au au, fill for the bingo prompt "trapped".</p>
            </blockquote>





	Below Down Under

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: this series of three ficlets is based on a setting that's a silly pun (AU Au au - Australian gold mine alternate universe), written rather hurriedly as last-minute bingo fills!
> 
> Beta thanks to [Muccamukk](http://archiveofourown.org/users/Muccamukk/pseuds/Muccamukk), who saved the fic from lazily written first aid. :)

"So, how's Oz been treating you, mate?"

"Tony. Seriously."

"Would you rather sit in silence? We can do that, too. Go on with the silent treatment. It's worked so well for the last couple of years." Tony stopped talking, grimacing in pain, clearly struggling to suppress a groan.

Steve sighed. It was just like Tony to go for small talk and chewing over their past disagreements in a situation where most other people would be too distracted to think beyond the present.

They were deep beneath Australian soil, in a small space between the boulders that used to make up the now collapsed mine passage. The only light was from their helmets. There was no easy way out, but everything around them seemed stable for the time being, and there were enough spaces between rocks that, if they were lucky, air wouldn't be an issue. Making sure of those things had been the second thing on Steve's agenda, right after the cave-in.

The first, thing, of course, had been to find out if Tony was all right. He'd reassured Steve he was, as much as a man half buried under a boulder could be. He could feel all his limbs and he could breathe well enough, which was all one could ask for. Steve hadn't taken that at face value, but a quick once-over hadn't shown anything alarming, at least not yet—if Tony's skin felt a little cool and his pulse clearly above resting rate, that wasn't entirely unexpected under the circumstances. Steve would have to keep an eye out for signs of shock.

"Nothing to say, Captain Rogers? Nothing at all?" Tony added.

Of course, there had been lots of things he'd wanted to say to Tony, over the years. This wasn't how he'd expected to have the conversation, though it was awfully fitting, considering the mess that had ended their relationship.

Tony clearly took Steve's continued silence as a no, and tried again. "So, Thor. Are the two of you—"

"It's not like you think," Steve finally said. "Yeah, we've had sex. A few times. It's been great."

"Ah, to be a fly on the wall," Tony put in wistfully.

"...but that's all it is," Steve finished. "Casual. I bunk at his place, sometimes we hook up."

"Steve, you don't need to make excuses, we broke up two years ago. You're allowed to see other people. I certainly have," Tony said, waggling his eyebrows lecherously. How he managed that after getting slabbed was beyond Steve.

"Good for you," Steve said, and meant it.

He would've loved for Tony to have moved on, but he knew Tony, and knew his tendency to self-destruct when things went wrong. If Steve had had to guess, he would've bet Tony had spent those years trying to drown himself in work, booze and one-night stands.

The break-up had been bad, with the whole mess around it. One of the worst times Steve had gone through. He usually tried to avoid thinking about it, but that was a bit difficult in a closed space with Tony right next to him.

They had been working in the same mine, back then, at home, doing their things: Steve as a mining captain, leading his team underground, Tony at his desk, an engineer who only occasionally interacted with the ground-level workers. Somehow, they'd still ended up with a shared group of friends. Thor had been there, too, for a while, and a number of other people, ranging from Natasha, the frighteningly sharp driller, to Wanda, an enthusiastic young trainee from health and safety.

They had been really happy, for a while, him and Tony. Despite all their differences, or maybe because of them.

Then, the accident had happened. Nothing like this freak localized collapse today, but a big one, with many casualties. Steve had narrowly escaped being caught in it himself, while Tony had been safely above ground. They'd both been caught in the follow-up, the massive media storm and the legal and administrative discussion around it, where he and Tony had taken different sides. Eventually, after the dust had settled, Steve had been on the side that came through looking worse. Which was why he'd left, and become a tramp miner, working short stints here and there, around the world. The really deep mines in South Africa hadn't felt like his place, and when Thor had suggested Australia, Steve had decided to give it a go. Up until now, it had been a good arrangement.

"And Bucky?" Tony asked. His thoughts had clearly been in the past, too.

Bucky had been there, when the shit had hit the fan. Steve's childhood friend, a blaster, his working partner when they'd been novices to the trade, whom he'd lost and then found again, had been a part of the whole bureaucratic nightmare. Bucky had been in even more trouble than Steve had, with a lot of the blame placed directly over him. They'd traveled together, for a while, and it had been good. Steve had thought they'd really hit it off, but then Bucky had declared he needed some space and wanted to stay in South Africa, and they'd gone their separate ways.

"Not with me anymore," Steve said simply.

"Aw, nothing serious going on at the moment?" Tony went on with his interrogation.

"Not that it's any of your business, but no," Steve said.

He seemed to keep messing up his relationships. Keeping things casual with Thor suited him just fine, and while Thor was an extremely attractive man, Steve just didn't connect with him the way he had with others. Like Tony.

"That's good, no one will get jealous of all the sex we'll have to have just to pass the time while stuck here," Tony said, and it would've almost been funny, if he hadn't finished it by groaning aloud and lapsing into an extremely painful-sounding fit of coughing, his entire face contorting in agony. When he fell silent again, Steve was dismayed to see a droplet of blood trailing down his chin.

"It might have to wait a bit, though," Tony added, his voice hoarse. "For a small to medium miracle. Who's the patron saint of miners, again?"


End file.
